Media giant Disney has canceled plans to create a $1 billion office park in Florida that the company estimated would have brought 2,000 jobs to the state amid its fight with governor Ron DeSantis. Disney CEO Bob Iger said on an earnings call recently that, in fighting Disney, DeSantis was potentially jeopardizing further investment from the House of Mouse. And on Thursday, the company showed that it was not bluffing.
The Florida project, known as Lake Nona Town Center, would have included a massive new complex. 1,000 workers from Disney’s Southern California offices were due to relocate, and a further 1,000 would join to work on Imagineering projects.
Some workers complained and threatened to quit over the prospect of being relocated (and some 200 reportedly already relocated). Disney pressed ahead, though, in part due to a Florida tax credit and the belief that Florida was a good place to do business.